I Love that You're in My Life

Gino collapsed onto the ground and rolled back onto his chest, panting slightly.  Sweat slowly trickled down his damp face as his chest rose and fell, his muscles tingling with warmth from the workout.  He stared at the ceiling for a moment before he got up off the floor of the gym and stretched, exhilarated.

He slowly took in a deep breath and then exhaled, before walking over and grabbing the water bottle, taking a long swig before pouring the rest of the water onto his head.

Gino briefly closed his eyes and sighed with satisfaction as the cool water slowly dripped out of his thick blond hair, trickling down his neck and onto the contours of his back and chest.  He grabbed his towel, nodding at a couple friends in greeting on his way back to his dorm to wash up.

As soon as he entered his room, he tossed his sweaty towel into the hamper before gathering a set of new clothes from the drawers and making his way into the bathroom for a shower.  The shower was the best place for him to think.  He had no idea why, but Gino found the hot water against his body comforting, and stood there for a couple minutes, his muscles relaxing as he let himself clear his mind.  It was important to look and smell presentable considering the event he was going to attend later that night.

He exited the steaming bathroom and changed into a pair of dark wash jeans and a button down shirt; he haphazardly dried and styled his hair and spritzed on some cologne, before heading out to the Halloween party scheduled for that night.

~*~

The music pounded in Gino's ears as he entered his friend David Wilkinson's dorm.  The dorms at Stella Rose were fairly large, and the furniture was quite modern and classy as well, so the students knew better than to trash anything in David and his friends' rooms on purpose.

After greeting Tristan and another of his friends, Tyler Lee, Gino made his way over to the table, passing by many tipsy teenagers laughing and talking with each other in loud, boisterous voices.  A few girls smiled flirtatiously up at him but he paid them no mind.  Only one girl caught his attention nowadays, and as he stood by the table, his blue eyes wandered across the room as he attempted to find a certain petite, dark-haired and adorably innocent girl.

 "You looking for Alana?"  Tristan came up beside him, drawing his attention briefly away from the party surrounding them.

Gino nodded as a small smile pulled at his lips.

"You guys have been hanging out a lot recently," Tristan continued, grinning.  "It's been about a month now, right?"

"Yeah.  She told me she was coming to the party."

"Huh."  After a momentary pause, Tristan punched his arm, pointing towards Alana talking with the familiar brunette Gino always saw with her and said, "Hey!"

Gino grinned to himself and stood up, not paying attention to the knowing wink Tristan shot in his direction.  He couldn't help it.  He had to go over and show he was here before another guy dared to make a move on her.  Her friend saw him coming and smiled politely at him as he approached before she raised her eyebrows at Alana and left.

Once Gino finally greeted her, he instinctively took in her appearance.  She looked breathtakingly... cute.  She wore a dark pair of skinny jeans that hugged her hips and thighs, a creamy lace top and beige wedge sandals.  He could see the shimmering nail polish on her little toes even in the dim light.  The subtle scent of strawberries as he bent his head to hear what she was saying made Gino's heart leap; was it shampoo?  Her pink lips looked soft and plump, and her hair looked smooth and perfect as usual.

So.  Damn.  Cute.

"I don't know why people aren't dancing if there's music playing," Alana said over the noise.

"Alright then.  You want to dance?" he asked her, quirking an eyebrow and smiling.

"Sure," Alana smiled back up at him, her cheeks the color of peaches against her fair skin, which made his heart do a somersault.

He held out his hand, and her long warm fingers wrapped around his own as he led her to the center of the room.

The music had been pretty diverse for most of the evening thus far, and as Gino pulled Alana towards the small group of people dancing, a slow song came on.  He saw her face flush slightly and couldn't resist winking at her.